Buzz / 04 18, 2017

iOS vs Android: A Case for Android

You might remember an article written last week by one of our iOS Developers here at Haneke Design, sharing his thoughts on why iOS should be your go-to platform when developing a mobile app. This week, we hear from another developer from our studio, Thomas Komarnicki, and his reasons for why Android apps are here to stay…

User Acquisition

Applications built on the Android operating systems reach the most people. If user acquisition and retention is important to your business, adding an Android application is the best way to improve these criteria. More and more smartphones are being bought every year, and Android remains head and shoulders over iOS in terms of units sold worldwide and domestically.

US and Global Market Share

Most people are surprised to learn that Android dominates the worldwide market so heavily since a majority of their peers have iPhones. A study by the IDC found that in 2016Q3, Android captured 86.3% of the global market, while iOS trailed behind at 12.5%. The gap between Android and iOS is much less in the United States (Android at 56%, iOS at 42%). There is no denying that global markets are not only dominated by Android, but iOS is mostly a foreign afterthought.

Customization and Control

One of Android’s largest selling points is its flexibility and endless customization. Businesses can leverage this to deliver experiences that represent their business goals and branding. iOS developers often have to fight against a computer for weeks, which is almost always futile, to get an application in the iOS App Store the way they want it. The Google Play Store has much more lenient restrictions on developers, allowing users to determine what is important to them. For instance, on iOS you must support some of the oldest iPhone versions that are still in use today, even if it is a detriment to the rest of your users. Android does not force this, or any restrictions, on you as an app developer.

Android Is The Mobile OS Of The Future

Recently, Android overtook Windows as the most used operating system on the web. As the smart phone market starts to saturate, more and more individuals no longer have a need for a laptop or desktop computer, and will rely solely on their mobile phone. As this trend progresses, Android applications will drastically reach the most consumers who could be valuable customers for your business.

Final Thoughts

In this fake news era, the same numbers can tell very different stories. This is why it’s important to compare iOS to Android, and not Apple to Samsung, when determining the value of an application. Android is the world’s most used operating system and continually widening that gap. Building your application on Android is the clear choice to reach as many customers as possible.